Afghanistan beat Ireland in third T20I: Key stats
Afghanistan beat Ireland in the third T20I of the five-match series and remain alive. Ireland, who won the first two matches, saw the visitors post a challenging 189/5 in 20 overs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz chipped in with a delightful 53. In response, Ireland pushed on but the side fell short in the end. George Dockrell's unbeaten fifty was the highlight.
How did the match pan out?
Afghanistan openers added 90 runs for the first wicket. Ireland picked up two wickets before another 48 runs were added for the third wicket. In the end, the Afghans got past 180. For Ireland, Joshua Little (2/29) was superb. Ireland kept losing wickets and were 85/7 before Dockrell and Fionn Hand joined hands to provide a fight back. Dockrell fought but Afghanistan prevailed.
Key numbers for the Afghan batters
Gurbaz did well, scoring a 35-ball 53. He smashed eight fours and a six. The stylish batter has gotten to 648 T20I runs at 25.92. He smashed his 4th T20I fifty. Hazratullah Zazai scored a 40-ball 39. He has 851 runs at 35.45. Najibullah Zadran scored a quickfire 18-ball 42. He hit five sixes. He now has 1,427 runs at 33.18.
Key bowling feats attained in this match
Little (2/29) has raced to 49 scalps at an average of 25.40. Mark Adair (1/40) has 68 T20I wickets 19.66. Mujeeb Ur Rahman managed two scalps for 28 runs. He now has 36 wickets at 16.80. Naveenul-Haq (3/38) has 23 T20I wickets at 18.21.
Dockrell hits his maiden T20I fifty
Dockrell scored a 37-ball 58*. He slammed six fours and two sixes. Dockrell now has 647 runs at 18.48. He hit his maiden T20I fifty. Lorcan Tucker hit a sublime 21-ball 31. He has raced past 650 runs (653) at 19.78.
